Ohio Online Casinos

The Buckeye State is a great place to be a gambler. The state has legalized and launched sports betting and mobile sports wagering, it offers brick-and-mortar gambling from four major cities and is generally considered a good place to gamble. Yet, online casinos are not yet part of the landscape.

Although there is a good financial reason to try and pass legislation that covers real money online casinos, lawmakers in Ohio have been treading somewhat carefully. In the vacuum left by the lack of laws regulating online casinos, offshore casinos have taken their place.

Here is all you need to know about the best online casinos in Ohio.

Best Ohio Online Casinos

Finding the best online casinos in Ohio is not an easy task per se. The state does not currently regulate any real money casinos online, which means that any casino you may come across that offers such games is most likely based offshore or is even illegal.

This will limit your options and make it harder to find trustworthy websites. The main challenges that come from the unregulated status of online casinos in Ohio are that they cannot guarantee your financial and personal data safety.

As a result, players are reluctant to deposit money or face difficulties cashing out their winnings or bankroll. This is why most people prefer to play social casinos even though they do not pay real money.

If you do decide to play for real money after all, there are still some websites that local players have turned to repeatedly. They are offshore and do not hold a license from the state but are largely trusted by players who prefer real money casino gameplay over other forms of entertainment.

Are Online Casinos Legal in Ohio?

Online casinos are unfortunately not legal in Ohio, and it may be a while before they are. The legalization of sports gambling though is a huge, and it means that sooner or later, the Buckeye State will follow a similar path and explore iGaming.

Presently, there is no actual legal momentum behind this. No piece of legislation or draft law has been put forward in 2024, with 2025 as the earliest when we can see movement. So, this means that players are somewhat restricted in their choices of gaming when it comes to online casinos.

The only viable alternatives are social and sweepstake casinos. They offer a good selection of online casino games of chance, but they do not support real money play, allowing you to only play with various currencies used exclusively within these platforms.

In the meantime, players must be wondering whether or not their playing at an offshore casino in Ohio could get them into trouble. Theoretically, playing at a non-registered online casino for real money is a misdemeanor, but the state has not gone after any individual specifically and is unlikely to do so in the future.

However, you still need to keep in mind that there is a significant risk associated with playing at online casinos that operate without a license in Ohio.

How to Pick an Online Casino in Ohio

To choose a suitable online casino for real money in Ohio, players will need to do several things first. You need to run through a list of criteria that are good to check when you choose a casino in the Buckeye State yourself.

Customer Support

Customer support may not be one of the things you will immediately think about checking with, but it’s quite important. Good support is essential to have a great time playing at virtually any casino. We test the available support methods ourselves and make sure that they work as advertised, so that players may have a reliable line of communication with the casino they want to play at in Ohio.

Games and Software

The available games and software will help you find out more about the casino and how committed it is to bringing you the best possible options. Games on their own are not sufficient criteria to choose a casino, but they are still important, especially when you consider the software powering the casino. Is the casino mobile compatible, are there any glitches in the UI? These things are important to players and us.

Promotions and Bonuses

A quick look at the available terms and conditions will help you better understand what to expect. Experienced players know that for a promotion to be worth it, it should come with fair terms and conditions. Any Ohio online casino site for real money ought to come with fair and transparent TOCs that make it easy to follow the entire process – from claiming the prize to redeeming your winnings.

Banking and Payments

Often, offshore casino sites will have trouble managing your money – whether it has to do with the deposit or cash out. This is why we make sure that the Ohio real money casino sites we pick will actually deliver a good quality banking speed. It’s important to look for sites that do not have hidden banking fees and offer transactions that are within the designated time window.

Trust and Reputation

Trust and reputation will also play a particularly important part in the choice of casino as well. Ohio online casinos are not legal in the state, and as such, you will rely a lot on what your fellow players share about a certain casino brand. We make sure to extensively check this and issue recommendations based on what we find out about each casino brand on our table.

Mobile Ohio Casinos

Mobile casinos are not a thing in Ohio if you mean real money casino sites that are regulated by the state. However, online gambling is usually available online in the Buckeye State and this applies to the offshore casinos that cater to local players. Additionally, players may also try the social and sweepstakes casinos which do not pay real money but can still be good fun.

Ohio Casino Apps

You may not find as many Ohio casino apps as you expect there to be. For the most part, the real money sites in the state are based offshore, and they cannot run dedicated apps in the Buckeye State. Alternatively, you could play social and sweepstakes casinos on your phone and through a dedicated mobile app, but you won’t be able to win real money prizes.

Land-Based Casinos in Ohio 

The land-based gambling in Ohio is mostly focused on four major cities to name Cincinnati, Columbus, Toledo, and Dayton, with four brick-and-mortar casinos and seven racinos in operation as of right now in the Buckeye State. Here are some of the properties you may be interested in visiting yourself.

Hollywood Casino Columbus

• Address: 200 Georgesville Rd, Columbus, OH 43228, United States
• Phone: +1 614-308-3333

Hollywood Casino Toledo

• Address: 1968 Miami St, Toledo, OH 43605, United States
• Phone: +1 419-661-5200

Hard Rock Casino Cincinnati

• Address: 1000 Broadway, Cincinnati, OH 45202, United States
• Phone: +1 513-250-3150

JACK Cleveland Casino

• Address: 100 Public Square, Cleveland, OH 44113, United States
• Phone: +1 216-297-4777

MGM Northfield Park

• Address: 10777 Northfield Rd, Northfield, OH 44067, United States
• Phone: +1 330-908-7625

Hollywood Gaming at Dayton Raceway

• Address: 777 Hollywood Blvd, Dayton, OH 45414, United States
• Phone: +1 844-225-7057

Eldorado Gaming Scioto Downs

• Address: 6000 S High St, Columbus, OH 43207, United States
• Phone: +1 614-295-4700

Miami Valley Gaming

• Address: 6000 OH-63, Lebanon, OH 45036, United States
• Phone: +1 513-934-7070

Hollywood Gaming at Mahoning Valley Race Course

• Address: 655 N Canfield Niles Rd, Youngstown, OH 44515, United States
• Phone: +1 877-788-3777

Belterra Park Cincinnati

• Address: 6301 Kellogg Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45230, United States
• Phone: +1 513-232-8000

Responsible Gambling in Ohio

Ohio is one of the states to take the most serious care about problem gambling and responsible gambling. For starters, the official state website explains in detail what Responsible Gambling is and why it is important.  

The state also has a dedicated campaign with Keep It Fun Ohio, which is dedicated to preventing, intervening, and informing about cases of problem gambling. The program is truly comprehensive, and it leaves enough information for players to address the issue head-on, whether they want to receive help or ask on behalf of someone else.

Ohio runs the Time Out Ohio campaign which offers access to self-exclusion and self-help software Gamban for free, making sure that players in the Buckeye State are truly getting some of the best treatment and support options when it comes to problem gambling.

You can also study additional gambling help resources on the page of the National Council on Problem Gambling, and the sub-section dedicated to Ohio specifically.

Ohio Online Casinos FAQ